The present invention relates to the optimization of fuel utilization in a fired heater or furnace system. There are optimizers available presently which control the ratio of fuel to air in a heater in accordance with optimum requirements and constraint variables such as temperature, pressure, and the like.
While the systems available presently operate in the manner intended, it is possible to improve the performance of such systems by converting to a digital control utilizing the change in the fuel flow rate as a controlling parameter by which the changes in fuel flow cause the optimizer to respond in such a way as to produce opening and closing rate signals for a damper control at varying rates in accordance with the system parameters.
The digital control provided by the present invention is intended to simplify and reduce the expense in providing a totally analog system for the control of a complex furnace system. A digital system for example, can handle a number of inputs simultaneously and select the one most closely resembling the requirements of the system constraints and furthermore can operate quickly and accurately utilizing digital counters and filters.
While the present disclosure discusses the utilization of fuel, it should be understood that the present system can be adapted to respond to various inputs for optimizing different process variables.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system for optimizing process variables of different kinds by utilizing digital system concepts.